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What is the gospel of Q and
does it prove the Gospels are false?
Q comes from the
German "quelle" meaning "source." Some biblical scholars have proposed
that there was a document prior to the writing of the gospels which was
used by the writers of Matthew and Luke as a source of information.1
They have called this hypothetical document "Q." It is hypothetical
because there is no proof that the document existed. Nevertheless, this
proposal has gained some acceptance in scholarly circles due to the very
close similarities and identical written accounts found in both Matthew
and Luke. It is reasoned that the very similar accounts must be taken
from a common source.
Since Matthew was probably originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic
according to the historian Papias, and all we have is the Greek texts,
some conclude that a translation of the Hebrew gospel of Matthew into
Greek would have resulted in translations slightly different from the Luke
accounts. But since some of the accounts are identical, it is proposed
that Matthew and Luke shared a common reference source. This is perfectly
reasonable and we do see differences in translations as well as identical
wording. Is this the result of an unknown document known as Q? Perhaps,
but there is no way to be sure since it is possible that one copied from
another or copied from Mark.
Following is a small sample chart of some of the sayings in Matthew
and Luke that are identical as is demonstrated by being underlined. The
text is taken from the NASB.
| Matt. 3:7-10, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who
warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8"Therefore
bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; 9and do not
suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our
father’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to
raise up children to Abraham. 10"And the axe is
already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. |
Luke 3:7-9, "He therefore began saying to the multitudes who were
going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come? 8"Therefore bring
forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to
yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you
that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
9"And also the axe is already laid at the root of the
trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire." |
| Matt. 23:37, "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who
are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children
together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and
you were unwilling. |
Luke
13:34, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city
that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How
often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen
gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! |
| Matt. 11:2-6 |
Luke 7:18-23 |
| Matt. 8:18-22 |
Luke 9:57-62 |
|
Matt. 17:19-20 |
Luke 17:5-6 |
| Matt. 25:14-30 |
Luke 19:11-27 |
| ...etc. |
As I said above, another theory is
that Matthew and Luke copied from Mark. Please consider the following
quote which deals with both the Q theory and the Markan Source theory.
"It is plain as a
pikestaff that both our Matthew and Luke used practically all of Mark
and followed his general order of events. For this reason Mark has been
placed first on the pages where this Gospel appears at all. But
another thing is equally clear and that is that both Matthew and Luke
had another source in common because they each give practically
identical matter for much that is not in Mark at all. This second
common source for Matthew and Luke has been called Logia because it is
chiefly discourses. It is sometimes referred to as "Q."2
The above quote
from A.T. Robertson, one of the foremost Greek scholars of the 20th
century, is a good reflection of the position of many scholars. It may be
that there was a common source for Matthew and Luke, either Q or Mark, or
a combination of both.
If Q
is true, are the gospels inspired?
Some people say
that the Q theory invalidates the inspiration of the gospels since it
would mean that the writers copied their material from one another and
were then not inspired of God. But this does not invalidate inspiration
at all. If Q is an actual source it does not invalidate the validity of
the gospels. Why would copying from an earlier source invalidate the
Gospels or say they were not inspired? Can God not inspire a writer as he
copies from another document? Of course.
If anything, the existence of Q would mean that the time between the
actual events and their written record is lessened. In other words, Q
would have to precede Matthew and Luke. This would mean that there is a
source even earlier than the those gospels which only adds to the validity
of the accuracy of the gospels since it shortens the time between the
event and the record.
If
Mark was a source of Matthew and Luke, then...
Furthermore, if
Mark was used as a source for Matthew and Luke, how would he have known
what to write about if he wasn't an eyewitness? This isn't a problem
because Mark was a disciple of Peter and Peter was in the inner circle
with Jesus. Therefore, Mark received his information from Peter who was
an eyewitness. Also, Matthew, who was a disciple, agrees with the account
of Mark's gospel concerning Jesus and the events surrounding Him as is
evidenced in his account. There is no disagreement between them, only
confirmation and verification. So, we have confirmation of Mark's
accuracy.
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1. Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D., Harper’s Bible
Dictionary, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1985.
2. Robertson, A.T., A Harmony of the Gospels,
Harper & Row; New York` 1950. p. 255.
For further reading the
possibility of Q, please consider
- Richard A. Edwards, A Theology of
Q: Eschatology, Prophecy, and Wisdom (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress
Press 1976).
- John S. Kloppenborg Verbin,
Excavating Q: The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel
(Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press 2000).
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